Palm Sunday 2014
Psalm 118 Philippians 2:5-11
Matthew 21: 1-11 Matthew 27:1-54
The Coming of the King
There are basically three ways in
which the Psalms can be read and understood.
1. The original meaning and application of the
author as he expressed personal pain, or praise, or made petition to God for
help.
2. The understanding and application for the individual
reader as an expression of personal pain, or praise, or as an aid to personal petition
to God for help.
3. The understanding and application for a group of
readers, whether a nation, or a congregation, or a family – again for the same purposes, but, in this case the Psalms serve as a collective expression of pain, or
praise, or a collective petition to God for help.
As such, the Psalms teach us about
ourselves, about suffering, and about God and how he views our suffering and
how he deals with it. The Psalms were never meant to be locked in their
particular historical setting and circumstances, but rather they were written
with a view to timeless relevance. It is little wonder then, that believers
down through the ages have often turned to the Psalms for comfort and strength
in time of need.
Traditionally, at least since the
time of the Babylonian Exile or shortly thereafter, Psalms 113-118 are chanted
at the Passover Meal, the first two before the meal and the last four
afterwards. This is possibly what the Gospel authors were referring to when
they stated that Jesus and his disciples sang a hymn prior to their going to
the Mount of Olives . (It really is quite
something to think that these might have been the last Psalms Jesus sang before
his arrest, trial and execution.) These Psalms are known as the “Egyptian
Hallel” (or Praise) Psalms as their theme serves to remind the worshipers of
the Exodus from Egypt
even though only the second (Psalm 114) actually speaks directly to the
historical event. However, they are interconnected as Psalm 113 addresses the
theme of oppression, 115 the theme of praise for undeserved mercy, protection,
and blessing, 116 the theme of thanksgiving for deliverance, 117 the theme of
universal praise, and finally, our Psalm for today, 118 the theme of triumphal
procession.
Linking these themes together makes
them an appropriate series of Psalms addressing the greatest theme in
Scripture, namely that of the deliverance of God’s people for the purpose of
worldwide re-creation, reconciliation, and restoration…tracing God’s
progressive plan of redemption from the Fall of the 1st Adam in the
Garden of Eden to the final consummation of all things through the victorious
reign of the 2nd Adam, namely Jesus, the Christ.
This plan can be seen in
paradigmatic or parabolic or picture form in the historical events of the
Exodus from Egypt and the
return of the Exiles from Babylon .
And the purpose of quoting these Psalms at Passover was to show that as surely as
God had delivered Israel from captivity in the past through the figures of
Moses, Joshua, David, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zerubbabel, so He would deliver
Israel in the future through the figure of the Messiah. Thus it is not
surprising that Psalm 118 was quoted during Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem on, what we now
call, Palm Sunday. But little did the crowd know how prophetic their words
would prove to be… that something far greater than the physical Exodus or the
physical Restoration after the Exile would indeed take place within a few days
time.
As I said, I do not believe that
any of the Psalms were ever meant to be locked in their particular historical
setting and circumstance, but rather they were written with a view to timeless relevance,
otherwise why were they set to tunes for liturgical use?. Thus, although the
individual Psalms themselves really only have one meaning, each and every one
of them was written for personal and corporate use by generations to come, and
therefore they all have multiple applications. In this case, Psalm 118 refers
to anyone forced to face the reality of continuing and prolonged oppression – bringing
to mind the past victories of God on behalf of his people serves to bolster
faith and encourage trust in him regardless of the historical situation.
For this reason, the
Thus by recording the words of the
crowds chanting specifically from Psalm 118, the author of the Gospel attempted
to draw our attention to the fact that the life, death, and resurrection of
Jesus was the greater fulfillment of what the Exodus and the return from Exile
merely pictured. As God was with his people in the Exodus…as God was with his
people in the restoration after the Exile…so God was with his people in the
cross, reconciling the world to himself through the death of his only Son, our
Lord and Savior, Jesus, the Messiah.
You see, Jesus’ triumphal entry
into Jerusalem
was the beginning of the end of the greatest slavery of all time – that of our
slavery to sin – it was the beginning of the end of the greatest exile of all
time – that of our exile from Paradise and from the very source of life, namely God himself. For
this reason, the Church traditionally saw fit to use this Psalm, not only in
her Palm Sunday celebrations, but also in her Easter Sunday celebrations, as Easter
marked the day on which God saved us and sent us prosperity in its true sense.
Easter marked the day on which the sacrifice that had been bound with cords to
the horns of the altar was shown to have been accepted by God as atonement for
the sins of the whole world.
But the Early Church also saw every
Sunday (some might even say every day) as a celebration of the resurrection –
the day on which God still actively assists believers in their struggle to live as his delivered
people – a day on which he should be rightly praised for his enduring mercy – a
day on which he should be thanked for his unmerited pardon and salvation. And
so the Ancient Church celebrated the Eucharist…the Great Feast of
Thanksgiving…each Lord’s Day (again, some might say every day) as a reminder
that God is for us and that he has opened the gates of righteousness for us to
enter in and to praise his name for ever.
And so, dearest beloved brethren,
each time you approach the Lord’s Table, remember that his mercy does indeed endure
forever – that same mercy which he demonstrated to his people in the Exodus –
that same mercy which he showed toward his people in the return from Exile –
that same mercy is still present today to strengthen and uphold us as we go
into his world to proclaim that the long expected King – the Messiah – the Holy
One of Israel himself, Jesus the Christ, has indeed come, and that he reigns –
even now – as the victorious Lord over all his creation.
© Johann W. Vanderbijl III 2014
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